Ok The Great Doctor Who Debate

[Scifipulse]

As we know Doctor Who is changing yet again next series with the addition of Catherine Tate as the new companion. Which begs the question as to what actually happened with Martha Jones.

[Tribe13]

As we know Doctor Who is changing yet again next series with the addition of Catherine Tate as the new companion. Which begs the question as to what actually happened with Martha Jones.Recommendation: ask the producers :D

[Scifipulse]

As we know Doctor Who is changing yet again next series with the addition of Catherine Tate as the new companion. Which begs the question as to what actually happened with Martha Jones.Recommendation: ask the producers :D

Thank god someone agree with me lol.

Been arguing the toss about this one elsewhere. Hence this poll.

There is a group of people who claim that she is only still working on the show for the 5 episodes of Dr Who and the 3 Torchwood she is doing to serve out her contract.

Now for all we know her contract may well have been up at the end of the first year. As in I doubt the producers would sign a newcomer with no track record for sticking around on a series for more than one year.

I suspect Agyeman proved her worth and when he contract was coming to an end the producers were not quite sure what to do with her because they had only planned her arc out over the one year, and they sort of hit on the idea of Torchwood and doing a Captain Jack with her for about 5 episodes of Dr Who.

[Darth Marley]

I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of DW fandom.

But I have not seen much enthusiastic support for a year of Tate.

Nor have i seen much bashing of Freema.

[Scifipulse]

I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of DW fandom.

But I have not seen much enthusiastic support for a year of Tate.

Nor have i seen much bashing of Freema.

Same here. Though of the support for Catherine Tate is coming from inside of the BBC. Sure some fans liked the Ruanway Bride adventure and am sadly not one of them. But to my mind Tate was fine as a one of character, but for a full series. Just does not work for me at all. I'd be more inclined to have her start off as bossy but dumb like she was in the Runaway Bride and evolve her into a villain over the course of the weeks as she gathers more and more knowladge and what not.

You know like a little kid who learns something new and with little thought to others starts to use that newly aquired skill without actually thinking about the consequences or if it will hurt people.

[Gemini1999]

I don't know much about the situation, but I can talk about how I feel about the characters...

I kind of liked Catherine Tate's character in "Runaway Bride" because she was a very bold and in the Doctor's face about being pulled away in such an unexpected manner. As Ian said, it's a good one-off kind of character, but I didn't see the potential for that character on a continuing basis.

When I started watching Season 3 of the new episodes, I found Freema Agyeman a bit more interesting and captivating to watch and I really like the character of Martha Jones quite a bit.

I remember reading somewhere right before Season 3 started airing in the U.S. that Catherine Tate was coming back to Who at some point.

It's just all so confusing - they do a christmas episode with one character, then do a 3rd series with another and so on...

I know that BBC and the producers (or whomever is making the decisions) must be thinking one thing, but it's not the same as what viewers of the show are thinking. I keep wondering if they might eventually put off the audience by monkeying around so much with the show's format, but only time will tell.

Bryan

[Scifipulse]

I don't know much about the situation, but I can talk about how I feel about the characters...

I kind of liked Catherine Tate's character in "Runaway Bride" because she was a very bold and in the Doctor's face about being pulled away in such an unexpected manner. As Ian said, it's a good one-off kind of character, but I didn't see the potential for that character on a continuing basis.

When I started watching Season 3 of the new episodes, I found Freema Agyeman a bit more interesting and captivating to watch and I really like the character of Martha Jones quite a bit.

I remember reading somewhere right before Season 3 started airing in the U.S. that Catherine Tate was coming back to Who at some point.

It's just all so confusing - they do a christmas episode with one character, then do a 3rd series with another and so on...

I know that BBC and the producers (or whomever is making the decisions) must be thinking one thing, but it's not the same as what viewers of the show are thinking. I keep wondering if they might eventually put off the audience by monkeying around so much with the show's format, but only time will tell.

Bryan

Doctor Who is no stranger to casting shake ups. It was as bad if not worse during the original series run.

[fletch2]

Davis himself has said that one of the biggest influences on new Who is Buffy (which is ironic since Moffat's writing style is closer to Whedon's than RTDs) I think what he's trying to do is set up a situation like the Buffyverse where you have characters moving between the associated shows as needed.

My guess is that Martha moving to Torchwood is allowing him to burn off ideas developed for the "Rose Tyler saves the Earth" version of Torchwood that he eventually dropped. Having characters come and go rather than just reappearing for the occasional aniversary special makes the universe seem more complete and real.

As for Ms Tate, people were horrified that a teen pop starlet like Billie Piper would get a crack at Who and she was outstanding. I'm not completely sure we can even use the Runaway Bride as a model for how her character will be played. I'm sure the brief for that is that "Donna" should be as close to Tate's other characters as possible, going forward I doubt they would continue in that mold.

RTD is influenced by Buffy and the common factor of the two companions we've had so far is that they are female, adventurous enough to take the Doctor up on his offer and evolve into folks capable of holding their own in most situations, even saving the world if needed. If you look at that end result and you see Donna as the start point you can see that there is a lot of character development needed. I think that's the idea he has, not a young girl with a crush on the mysterious older man taht we've had so far but someone more set in their ways. Rose delighted in everything she saw, Martha saw it as a great adventure, Donna will complain about the food. I have a feeling we'll get some great stuff out of it.

[Scifipulse]

Davis himself has said that one of the biggest influences on new Who is Buffy (which is ironic since Moffat's writing style is closer to Whedon's than RTDs) I think what he's trying to do is set up a situation like the Buffyverse where you have characters moving between the associated shows as needed.

My guess is that Martha moving to Torchwood is allowing him to burn off ideas developed for the "Rose Tyler saves the Earth" version of Torchwood that he eventually dropped. Having characters come and go rather than just reappearing for the occasional aniversary special makes the universe seem more complete and real.

As for Ms Tate, people were horrified that a teen pop starlet like Billie Piper would get a crack at Who and she was outstanding. I'm not completely sure we can even use the Runaway Bride as a model for how her character will be played. I'm sure the brief for that is that "Donna" should be as close to Tate's other characters as possible, going forward I doubt they would continue in that mold.

RTD is influenced by Buffy and the common factor of the two companions we've had so far is that they are female, adventurous enough to take the Doctor up on his offer and evolve into folks capable of holding their own in most situations, even saving the world if needed. If you look at that end result and you see Donna as the start point you can see that there is a lot of character development needed. I think that's the idea he has, not a young girl with a crush on the mysterious older man taht we've had so far but someone more set in their ways. Rose delighted in everything she saw, Martha saw it as a great adventure, Donna will complain about the food. I have a feeling we'll get some great stuff out of it.

My one big concern which is shared by many is fear that Tate will downstage the doctor. She does have a powerful presence.

[Commander Taggart]

My one big concern which is shared by many is fear that Tate will downstage the doctor. She does have a powerful presence.

Pssst... Ian... that's called "upstaging."

[Squonk63]

Here is my take:

Martha Jones as a companion is easily one of the more intelligent females ever to set foot in the TARDIS. Once she figures out that the Doctor is never going to fancy her the way she does him, she grows up fast and takes her own advice. As a potential role model for younger female viewers, I think that the example she sets is awesome, and a logical/satisfying conclusion to the initial Martha arc.

Martha is also training to be a doctor, which means that by the time we see her again, she is going to be on a par with the Doctor that will no doubt be interesting to watch.

Donna Noble has so much room for growth and expansion as a character. I suspect that we are going to watch her evolve from a self-centered, pop-culture worshiping sheep into someone who sees the bigger world picture and is, in fact, capable of saving the world on her own.

If a shop clerk like Rose can do it, why not Donna? For that matter, why not Sally Sparrow?

As for Freema the actress, I don't think that her popularity played into the equation at all. It was just a matter of a story arc that reached its intended point, and now they are giving her character some other opportunities to excel. :wink:

[Scifipulse]

My one big concern which is shared by many is fear that Tate will downstage the doctor. She does have a powerful presence.

Pssst... Ian... that's called "upstaging."

Well what do you expect. It has been over ten years since I was last on a stage lol.